Solar Oven test on a spring, winter and spring Bob's your uncle, Auckland day!

That is how we describe a spring day in Auckland. On any day we can have 'changeable weather in this wonderful city. It is predicted that we will get to about 16C today and on my sheltered deck it may get to 19C. It's a good day to test the efficacy of my new Solar Flair solar oven. Let's be fair here; the manufacturers make no claim that I am going to be able to cook anything useful on such a day, but test it I will!
I set it up on the deck, with the thermometer inside and a cup of water on the rack. Within ten minutes of the set up the thermo mentor read 70c and then the sun started dancing in and out of the clouds. Still, I was quite impressed. That temperature would be enough to dry fruit or tomatoes. To stop it rising I assume I would only need to reposition the oven, slightly away from the direct sun. As a precaution I need to lock up my crazy Jack Russell, because she is showing far more interest than I would want!

1) 10 minutes into test----70C   Sun intermittent and some wind. (dog locked up!)
2) 20 minutes into test----75C   Cloudy---damn!
3) 30 minutes into test ---75C  Struggling to get above this but the sun is being a bitch!
OK I will update and add to my blog---off shopping now!
www.authorneilcoleman.com

4)  OK, When I cam back an hour later the clouds had slapped the sun away and the temperature had dipped to 50C. IN my view that is pushing it for cooking anything other than a long slow session with drying fruit.
5) The sun came out but was still patchy, raising the temperature into the 60C plus range.

I will not attempt cooking chicken unless I can consistently have temperatures above 100C. I suspect that may not be possible at this time of the year, but I shall keep testing. Maybe the chicken Moroccan curry will have to go in the slow cooker tomorrow! I will keep experimenting.

So while you are all waiting to see if this is going to work, go download ROSKILL on your Kindle or Tablet. Just go to my website to click on the Kindle version of ROSKILL.

So far on crappy days I have managed to get it to 85C--enough to dry fruit but not enough for meat!

Spring day in Auckland with the beautiful flowering Kowai.

USA and Australia---What have they got in common?

Yes, I know, lots of you will say---well everything, but Aussie is America's bitch,' doing what the big slapper says.'  Why?---Because Australia sees itself as some sort of Great Power' in the Southern Ocean, emulating what 'big brother' does elsewhere in the world. It also takes this attitude to extremes when it comes to performance on the sporting field. When Aussie is doing well, it is wall-to-wall TV coverage. The same can be said for the USA.
Take for example, the media coverage of the America's Cup finals in SF. When Oracle was preforming to plan, the coverage was right up there, with constant news chatter and glorification of the 'boat and sailors.' Then came the losses and New Zealand edged towards the magic number of victories needed to bring the Cup back to Auckland. What happened? Many new channels went dead, as the big eye turned towards other more important news issues, like Syria, the nation that most Americans would have a problem finding on the map! I did see a few brief mentions of the Cup when Oracle actually won a race against Team NZ, but after yesterdays drubbing by the Kiwis---that was it!
Aussie does something similar when any NZ team takes it to them. Am I accurate in my summation? Mostly; just do a little survey for yourself. Does anyone care? Of course not! It goes with the territory. Do we love the afore mentioned countries any less? Of course not! We are used to such posturing  and have learnt to deal with it for many years. After all; 'friends' always have 'tidal- like' relationships; the ebbing and flowing is a natural event, indeed one that is necessary in order to keep the 'natural flow.'
We only need to look at our collective histories where the behaviours of other countries has thrown the three of us together. Is that from a sense of 'caring' or is it more to do with the interests of the two big daddies that have so much influence on our lives in tiny NZ?
In the next few days, if everything goes to plan, Team NZ is going to lift the Cup from SF and bring it home. Maybe the  big eye of the USA media will focus on this insignificant country in the South West Pacific for long enough to inform the American public where we are. Then they will line up to buy our farms----Ooops, that sector of the USA is already doing that! Damn!

www.authorneilcoleman.com
 

China---keep reading my blogs and download my book!

China is now featuring as an increasingly important reader of my blogs. Now, all I need is for you to pass on the link and start downloading my book for my site. It only costs about $US4 and all you need is a Kindle or Tablet.  Go for it! Follow the link and click on the Kindle version of ROSKILL on my website  www.authorneilcoleman.com   Happy reading, China!

I am like a kid with a new toy---please let it be sunny tomorrow!

I want sun. I want lots of sun. How else am I going to try out my new solar oven. Hell, it ain't gonna work on a cloudy day. I don't know what the 'preppies' do on a cloudy day. Maybe they just make more 'preppies!'
I shall get some pictures up soon. I do wonder at its construction. You know those things people put in the front of their cars to keep the sun out?-----that is what the material looks like for the solar oven. I reckon my mate, Richard at school could make one for about $50. OK, loo out for the trial run, without food tomorrow. I am interested in seeing how hot it gets on a 'marginal use day. That's 'Auckland talk' for a  Spring day in my fair city. Sunday though is looking promising. I want sun. I want sun!!!!!
www.authorneilcoleman.com.
 

The Pope ligitimizes 'non believers.' like they need that?---or care!

The Pope has announced that ‘non-believers’ can live good loves and follow their consciences and therefore be ‘legitimate.’ Nice move, Pope but hardly necessary. No doubt his move will lead to much discussion within the ‘Christian’ community, but generally it will pass by most of us as a big ‘non-event.’

His announcement is of course welcome in the sense that it represents the vast change that has occurred since the days of ‘Holy Inquisitions and Crusades to punish other religious groups.

Now, all we need is for a similar move from the other big religion on the block (and I don’t mean Protestants) and perhaps we could see an end to the strife in the Middle East, along with the Jihadist wars. You reckon they are listening? Yeah, nah---whatever! Maybe that’s just too much to hope for---‘a world at peace with its faiths.’

www.authorneilcoleman.com

Mr Obama, Take a page out of Oracle's book and think for a moment!

The racing in SF re the America’s Cup has shown us that sometimes one needs to play a trump card and take a break. It was looking pretty ominous for Oracle after NZ walloped them in the first race of the day. Most sensibly, Oracle used their one chance to take a break and stake stock of their situation.

Obama should also follow this example and think seriously before launching into an attack on Syria. I am not saying that he should not act, but he must do so with the blessing of the UIN and be part of the resolution to the problem that is Syria, not blast head on in without any real knowledge of what the result will be.

Oracle has a few days to reflect, rebuild and try something new. Maybe there is a message there, Mr Obama!

www.authorneilcoleman.com

Solar Oven has arrived---now what to test?

Now that my Solar Flair oven has arrived and all unpacked I shall launch into my testing ' programme.  (Cost, so far---NZ$209)The first thing I noticed was that the only instructions were for the pasteurization kit; OK water is an essential survival need. I reflected for a moment and contacted NZ Survivor (The place that ebrightenergy.co.nz told me to get the oven. I thought---OMG --am I dealing with a pack of 'preppies,' like on TV---you know those ones that have hippie-like glazed over eyes and predicting the end of the world? No, don't worry, I haven't gone nuts!
The package contained the oven which folds down into an easy carry pack and two racks and cooking pots.
Right, so I don't have an instruction manual, but I doubt that matters. I just Googgled the oven and sure enough there are heaps of Yanks out there in the desert who love to show how to use the oven, complete with bloody Rattle Snakes. Thank God I live in Auckland , NZ. However one yet to be answered question must be--Will Auckland's less extreme climes be suitable for cooking at the necessary temperature? The dudes on YouTube were talking about the oven preheating to about 200F. I remember the old scale and if I am correct, boiling point on that scale is 212F. I suppose I sort of halve that for Celsius. Now I shall test the oven on Saturday, so long as I can get 3 hours plus of full sun. I am going to jump in the deep end (yes, I shall stick up pictures of my adventure!) and cook a Moroccan chicken casserole. Why walk when I can run--- Right? If I poison myself you will have an end to my crazy ADVENTURE!
www.authorneilcoleman.com